Visionary
by Kiyre
Summary: Steven worries for the future - Garnet shows him the past.


It was a warm summer evening, and all was silent on the fields; all save the soft rustling of the leaves as the wind ran its fingers through them. The summer breeze carried with it the sweet scent of strawberries that sprouted below, visible at a moment's glance throughout the vast plains. A little ways off, past the ledges of the cliff that marked the end of the field, hung several floating patches of land, leading up towards the evening sky like some sort of ethereal stairway.

Steven sat on a platform at the top of the stairway, staring down at the fields below. Among the strawberries he could see weapons dulled by rust and by time; swords, axes, bows, and arrows from millennia past. Over five thousand years ago, the Crystal Gems had made their last stand against their Homeworld here, alongside his mother who led the charge.

As Steven took it all in, a familiar figure approached from the fields. Garnet, making her way to the platforms, jumped nimbly up the steps as she reached Steven's platform in no time.

"Hi, Garnet," Steven greeted, as Garnet walked over to where he was sitting.

"Pearl said this is where you went. Steven, what are you doing out here?"

Steven looked up at Garnet. "Well…, you guys said that this was where mom and the other Crystal Gems fought against the Homeworld, isn't it? I just thought if I came here, I'd be able to understand a bit more."

"More about what?"

"About… what mom was like."

"…Oh."

"When Jasper and Peridot came in the spaceship, I couldn't protect you guys, and you almost got seriously hurt because of it. A bunch of houses were destroyed, too, and now the people who lived there have to find new homes. I just thought… if mom were here, could she have stopped all that from happening?"

Garnet looked into Steven's wistful eyes. He was starting to resemble Rose more with each passing day, and he cared for the people of Earth just as she had. "I don't know, Steven. Maybe she could have, or maybe not. We have no real way of telling."

"When Pearl talked about mom, she said all these things about how strong and brave she was. If I can't even get my shield out when I want to, how am I supposed to help defend the Earth from all those gems?"

Garnet walked over a few paces, taking a seat next to Steven. Taking off her sunglasses, she looked down at the fields where she had fought for her and many others had fought for their lives, once upon a time. "Steven, have I ever told you about how the Crystal Gems came to be?"

Steven shook his head.

Garnet sighed. "Before Pearl and I joined Rose, and we were still living on the Homeworld, we both had… trouble fitting in. You see, the Homeworld gems were an extremely individualistic society. They valued a gem's own strength greatly. Pearl, as amazing as she was, found it hard to do some of the things that other gems could do with ease. And they shunned her for it, calling her defective. As for me, well… I was a fusion, and they didn't take too kindly to that, either. Fusing with other gems was considered something of a taboo, because it meant that the gems that formed the fusion weren't strong enough on their own.

"The Homeworld had a group of elites that called themselves Visionaries. Their mission was to create a future where gems would eventually rule the entire universe. They believed in power and progress above all else, and they were responsible for many technological advancements in their time. They wanted to expand their horizons and send gems to other planets all around them. And while the other Homeworld gems had no problem with taking over other planets and taking their resources for personal gain, Rose saw things differently.

"She saw how the other planets were being affected by the invasion of the gems. Land and resources were being forcibly taken from other planets, and horrible things were being done to their original residents, all in the name of the progress that the Visionaries had promised. While other gems focused on the goal that they were all working for, Rose had decided that the ends, no matter how spectacular, could never justify such gruesome means.

"Rose brought this to attention, calling for a change in the way things were being done. She had love for every planet out there, and to see them being destroyed like this pained her greatly. At first, it looked like no one would listen, but your mother won over many, many other gems to join her cause, including both me and Pearl. The Homeworld gems promised new inventions, more powerful weapons, and more land to conquer. But Rose... Rose showed us a whole new way of life. I think in many ways, she was more of a visionary than any other; the first true visionary of our race. Together, we travelled to the planets being invaded by other gems, stopping the lands from being destroyed and the inhabitants from being harmed. And that was how the Crystal Gems first formed.

Steven nodded. "Yeah, Pearl always tells me what a great leader mom was. How she was strong, brave, beautiful, smart, and a whole bunch of other good things."

"And all those things are true, but there's more to the story. Out of all of us, Steven, I think that Pearl cared for Rose the most. Rose was her everything, and that may have… clouded Pearl's perceptions of her somewhat. Rose was the face of the rebellion, always there to help those unable to help themselves, and showing love and kindness to even the most undeserving gems and humans. To Pearl, and many others like her, Rose was a goddess. The perfect role model, someone to look up to in every way. To the Crystal Gems, her mission was infallible; her conviction unshakable. Truth is, Rose was a lot more like the rest of us than she liked to let on."

"How do you mean?" Steven asked.

"Rose was a great leader, and her passion and caring for her loved ones gave her strength. However, at times, it could also be her greatest weakness." "The night after the final battle had ended, after we had come out on top victorious, I found Rose in her room, and we had a chance to talk."

"Rose? Rose, are you there?" Garnet called out. Pacing through the seemingly endless room, she could make out a familiar figure in the distance."Rose, what are you doing here?" she asked, before she stopped in her tracks. In front of Rose was a small, clear glass coffin, inside of which lay Amber, one of the Crystal Gems that had fought with her today. "Is that…?"

"No," Rose replied, not looking back. "It's not her, just the room. It resembles here because I wanted it that way." She softly placed her hand on the case, reaching out as if to touch its inhabitant. The effigy looked almost exactly like the original, save for the closed eyes, complete stillness, and the lackluster of the jewel that should have been gleaming proudly. The not-Amber held her weapon at her chest, a longsword that was once wielded with both grace and power. Now, though, she almost looked like she was asleep… but that was impossible, for gems never slept.

"Rose, I don't understand, why would you want something like this?"

"It's a memorial, Garnet. Something to remember her by." Rose stood slowly, and the ground trembled. From the clouds below, countless other coffins rose in formation, settling in rows and columns of effigies. "Something to remember all of them by."

Garnet's mouth fell slack-jawed as she took it all in. Inside each glass case was a sleeping gem, images of the gems that were no longer here, just like Amber. The graveyard spanned as far as Garnet's eyes could see; countless coffins holding bodies of countless soldiers. "Is- is this… everyone?"

"Everyone who has fallen, yes. Each time we lost one of our own, I would come here to preserve their memory in my sanctum." Rose's voice dropped to a whisper. "Today, Garnet, in one day alone, I've had to make more coffins than all the ones I've ever made put together."

Garnet found herself left with no reply; she could only stare at what lay before her.

Rose finally turned to face her, with tears in the corners of her eyes. "I couldn't save them, Garnet. I couldn't save any of them."

"You did everything you could."

"But it wasn't enough," Rose said, shaking her head. "It wasn't enough to save them... Did we make the right choice, Garnet, starting this rebellion?"

"We did the right thing," Garnet stated with conviction.

"But did we? Look around, everyone you see in this place is gone! They're gone, Garnet, and they wouldn't be if they never joined our crusade. If they'd never- If I had never convinced them to—"

"—No, Rose. These gems joined us because they wanted to. The Homeworld had to be stopped, one way or another. What they were doing to planets like this one was just wrong."

"But we didn't stop them at all! We just delayed the inevitable. One day, the Homeworld will return to Earth, and they'll take it by force."

"What matters is that we stopped them tonight. Here and now, the residents of Earth are safe from harm's way."

"Perhaps, but at what cost?" Rose asked solemnly.

"At a cost that each and every one of us were willing to pay."

"They'll return, you know."

"Then we'll fend them off again, just like we did tonight."

"And what if we can't, Garnet? We've lost all our crew but you and Pearl."

"Then others will rise in our place. I refuse to believe that the three of us are all the good that remains in our entire race. But it won't come to that, because we'll win again, and keep this planet safe."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because, we're together. And those aren't just hollow words, Rose. Look at what we've accomplished together! The three of us, we _created_ the Crystal Gems, we led the charge against the wrongdoings of our Homeworld. Others may have joined us, but we were always at the centre of it, the three of us side by side."

Rose remained in silence for a brief moment. When she spoke, her voice held hope once more. "...Do you really think we can do it?"

"I know we can," Garnet said, embracing her commander in a reassuring hug.

Rose hugged her back, and the pair stood frozen among the gravestones, as if time itself had stopped. In their silent mourning, the corners of Rose's lips slowly tugged into a faint smile. It was one that barely reached her teary eyes; a spark of relief in the overwhelming sea of sadness around her. The Crystal Gems had fought bravely through the night, and countless of their fellow crusaders had paid the price that needed to be paid. But right here, right now, the small comfort of victory and the survival of her closest friends was enough for her.

It was just barely enough.

"So, do you feel like you understand a bit more about Rose, Steven?"

"...Yeah. It sure is a lot to take in," Steven replied. "I still don't know how we're going to stop those Homeworld gems when they arrive, though."

"I don't know yet either, but we _will_ protect this planet, together. Your mother may have done all these great things, Steven, but she was never alone," Garnet added, putting a reassuring arm around Steven's shoulder. "And neither are you."

Steven looked up, and was met with a warm smile. Slowly, he returned one of his own, along with a hug. "…Thanks, Garnet."

"You're welcome, Steven. Now let's get you home."


End file.
